Hyundai awards Elantra to Saatchi & Saatchi; withdraws Sonata from Ambience Publicis

In a recent move, Hyundai Motors India (HMI) has awarded the creative duties of its yet-to-be-launched mid-sized luxury sedan Elantra to Saatchi & Saatchi, Delhi. The Korean car maker had called its roster agencies, Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey Worldwide and Ambience Publicis, to pitch for the estimated Rs 7-9 crore creative business of Elantra. While an official confirmation is awaited, agency sources have corroborated the move.

Elantra is slated for launch in June this year. Sources indicate the luxury sedan would be priced between the Accent and the Sonata. Post the recent brand alignment, Saatchi & Saatchi now has Elantra besides HMI's flagship brand Santro. HMI's sports utility vehicle Terracan and Accent continue to be with Grey Worldwide. However, the estimated Rs 5-crore creative duties of Sonata, which was awarded to Ambience Publicis less than eight months ago, has been withdrawn from the agency.

Interestingly, since its launch in 2001, Sonata has changed its agency twice. First the luxury sedan was with SSC&B Lintas and later it moved to Ambience Publicis. The brief given to Ambience Publicis was to encourage sales of HMI's premium car and take Sonata back to its leadership position. As it turns out, Sonata is back on the prowl.

The news of HMI's latest round of brand alignment comes close on the heels of the company's decision to award its Rs 60-crore media duties to Madison Media. At the time of signing on Madison Media, Sanjeev Shukla, manager, marketing, HMI, had told agencyfaqs!, "Since our aggressive business plans for 2004 include doubling our production, we needed a fresh perspective." And now with Hyundai's best-selling car in Europe Getz ready for launch along with Elantra, fresh perspective is what will get the new cars noticed and Sonata back on the road in top gear. © 2004 agencyfaqs!